Students, teachers and education lovers unite on Learnist -- the 'Pinterest for learning'

I'm a student in the mass communication and social media master's program at the University of Florida. I've always loved school (nerd alert!) and learning new things. I hope to always maintain my curiosity and to never be satisfied with just what I know. After I finish my adventures at UF, I've tossed around the idea of pursuing my doctorate, and I'm interested in teaching journalism or communications at the college level in the future.

So if a person like me -- a student and aspiring professor -- were looking for a social network that allows for geeking out over education, I would look no further than Learnist. The site, created by online social learning company Grockit in 2012, has been called the "Pinterest for learning."

Look at all the things to learn!

According to TechCrunch, Learnist was originally developed for K-12 teachers and students -- and it's still certainly useful for that audience. Teachers or their students can create "learn boards" that collect information about a certain assignment or project -- a sort of online lesson planner (for teachers)/online binder with extra cool organization features (for students). But Learnist has widened its target audience to also include people who are just plain interested in learning, even if they haven't been near a classroom in years. As Learnist's about page says, "Everyone is an expert in something." The network gives people across the globe the opportunity to share their expertise as well as learn new things from others. You can use it as a tool for curating information on topics you already know well, or as a way to collect resources on topics with which you want to familiarize yourself.

I'm not knocking social networks that unite cat lovers or macaroni artists; I love a cute kitty GIF as much as the next internet geek. But Learnist represents what is good about the internet. Sometimes we forget -- among all the memes and funny videos -- that the internet gives us the opportunity every day to learn valuable things that will help us in real life, not just give us a few cheap laughs. So I am glad to see a social network that is placing education at the forefront.

I think it would be helpful for Learnist to allow or even suggest users to connect with experts within range of a particular zip code. For instance, I would gladly enable location services to be able to discover and connect with experts who live near me. That could help many people connect in person with other experts on their topic or on a topic they'd like to know more about.

Although Learnist is its own niche social network, it doesn't ignore the bigger, more broad ones in its integrated marketing strategy. Learnist is on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest. Learnist has an app available for those learning on the go from iPhone, iPad or Android. (I love what one reviewer of Learnist's app for Apple products called it: "my favorite not-guilty pleasure.")

Learnist's email options.

Learnist also has the option to receive emails from the network. I think the most valuable ones are the digests containing top recommendations and new content -- those would certainly get the recipient to click through from email to Learnist to learn more. And that's what it's all about!